Full principal casting announced for Phantom 25

Full principal casting announced for The Phantom of the Opera at The Royal Albert Hall on Saturday 1st and Sunday 2nd October 2011 

Hadley Fraser as ‘Raoul’, Keira Duffy as ‘Carlotta’, Sergei Polunin as ‘Slave Master’ and Daisy Maywood as ‘Meg Giry’

Cameron Mackintosh and Andrew Lloyd Webber are delighted to announce full principal casting for THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA AT THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL on Saturday 1st October at 7.30pm and Sunday 2nd October at 1.30pm and 7.00pm.

The cast will feature Hadley Fraser as ‘Raoul’, Kiera Duffy as ‘Carlotta’, Sergei Polunin as ‘Slave Master’ and Daisy Maywood as ‘Meg Giry’. They join the previously announced Ramin Karimloo as ‘The Phantom’, Sierra Boggess as ‘Christine’, Barry James as ‘Monsieur Firmin’, Gareth Snook as ‘Monsieur André’, Liz Robertson as ‘Madame Giry’ and Wynne Evans as ‘Piangi’, together with a cast and orchestra of over 200 and some special guest appearances.

Hadley Fraser is currently playing ‘Javert’ in “Les Misérables” at the Queen’s Theatre, and recently appeared in the “Les Misérables 25th Anniversary Concert” at the O2, where he played ‘Grantaire’. His other credits include “The Far Pavillions” at the Shaftesbury Theatre, “The Fantasticks” at the Duchess Theatre, “The Pirate Queen” on Broadway and ‘Marius’ in “Les Misérables” at the Palace Theatre.

American soprano Kiera Duffy is recognised for both her gleaming high soprano and repertoire that encompasses Handel, Praetorius, Bach, Mozart, and Verdi to the modern sounds of Alban Berg, Elliott Carter, and John Zorn. Kiera made her London Symphony Orchestra debut singing the role of ‘Cunegonde’ in a concert performance of “Candide” with Kristjan Järvi conducting. Other roles include the New York Philharmonic as ‘Venus’ in György Ligeti’s “Le Grand Macabre”, Los Angeles Philharmonic in Arnold Schoenberg’s “Pierrot Lunaire”, the San Francisco Symphony in Mozart’s “Requiem” and Feldman’s “Rothko Chapel” under Michael Tilson Thomas, after having debuted as soprano soloist in Handel’s “Messiah” in December 2010.

Sergei Polunin was born in the Ukraine, and joined The Royal Ballet School aged 13. His awards include gold medal in the Prix de Lausanne and the Sixth Lifar International Ballet Competition, and in 2007 Young British Dancer of the Year and the Youth American Grand Prix. In 2007, he joined The Royal Ballet and was promoted to Principal in 2010; that year he was also given the Outstanding Performance (Classical) award by the Critics’ Circle. His repertory includes ‘Albrecht’, ‘Lensky’, ‘Solor’ and ‘Bronze Idol’, ‘Hans-Peter’/’Nutcracker’ and ‘The Prince’ (“The Nutcracker”, “Cinderella”, “The Sleeping Beauty”), as well as leading roles in “Dances at a Gathering”,” L’Invitation au Voyage”, “Volunataries”, “DGV: Danse a grande vitesse”, “The Judas Tree”, “Symphony in C” and “Theme and Variations”. He created the role of ‘Jack/the Knave of Hearts’ in Christopher Wheeldon’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”. Sergei Polunin appears by kind permission of Monica Mason, Director of The Royal Ballet.

Daisy Maywood most recently covered and played the role of ‘Eponine’ in “Les Misérables at the Queen’s Theatre, and also performed in the company of the “Les Misérables 25th Anniversary Concert” at The O2. Forthcoming theatre credits include playing the lead role of ‘Peggy Sawyer’ in “42nd Street” at Leicester Curve Theatre.

THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA AT THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL will be directed by Laurence Connor with Musical Staging and Choreography by Gillian Lynne. The Royal Albert Hall will be transformed with a spectacular and unique design by Matt Kinley inspired by Maria Björnson’s original design. Lighting is by Patrick Woodroffe and Andrew Bridge and Sound by Mick Potter. The original London production was directed by Hal Prince.

THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA became the longest running show in Broadway history on 9 January 2006 when it celebrated its 7,486th performance, surpassing the previous record holder “Cats”. This coincided with the Broadway and the US national touring company celebrating an unprecedented 20,000 performances in the United States. In October 2010 the London production celebrated its 10,000th performance.

THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA has won over 60 major theatre awards, including seven Tonys on Broadway and three Olivier Awards in the West End. It won the ‘Most Popular Musical Audience Award’, voted by the public, in the 2002 Laurence Olivier Awards. THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, which opened at Her Majesty’s Theatre on 9 October 1986 starred Michael Crawford as ‘The Phantom’ and Sarah Brightman as ‘Christine.’ It is produced by Cameron Mackintosh and The Really Useful Theatre Company Limited.

Worldwide, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA has grossed over £3.2 billion. The box office revenues are higher than any film or stage play in history, including “Titanic”, “ET”, “Star Wars” and “Avatar”. It has been seen in 145 cities in 27 countries and played to over 130 million people. THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA is currently showing in London, New York, Budapest, Las Vegas, and Kyoto.

For the full Company of The Phantom Of The Opera at The Royal Albert Hal and to see the latest ticket information, visit Phantom25th.com.